Steady Schanuel ties career high with 4 RBIs in Halos' loss

ANAHEIM -- The Angels’ offense has mostly scuffled this season, but first baseman Nolan Schanuel has provided a steady presence, and he had a big night against the Royals in the series opener on Friday.

Schanuel ripped a three-run double as part of a four-run fourth inning, tying a career high with four RBIs in a 7-6 loss at Angel Stadium. It marked the fourth time in his career that he drove in four runs in a game and the first time since July 2 against the Blue Jays.

“Schanuel has been swinging the bat good, man,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “He's very confident up there. He's controlling the strike zone really well, not trying to do too much. Just having nice, good at-bats and staying within himself, and he’s been very productive.”

Despite being just 24, Schanuel is in his fourth season with the Angels and his numbers offensively this year are remarkedly similar to last year. This year, he's slashing .273/.351/.387 in 103 games after hitting .264/.353/.389 in 132 games in ’25. His .273 average is the best on the team and ranks tied for 16th in the American League.

The power still hasn’t quite blossomed, as he’s hit seven homers after going deep 13 times in ’24 and 12 times in ’25, but he’s still a productive player because of his ability to make contact at an above-average rate and his patience at the plate.

He also fits in well with the club’s approach since moving on from sluggers Jo Adell and Jorge Soler, as they’ve been relying more on small-ball tactics over the last few weeks. They’ve seen better results recently, averaging 5.25 runs over their last four games after they went 16 straight games of scoring four runs or fewer.

“Just building more team at-bats,” Schanuel said. “Being able to not depend on the home run. I think that's kind of what we've been doing. A lot more singles, a lot more doubles, and just working team at-bats. Somebody's got to step up at a big point and today happened to be me.”

He came through in a big spot in the third with the bases loaded and two outs, as he ripped a 1-0 cutter from veteran right-hander Seth Lugo for a three-run double down the right-field line. Schanuel then scored the go-ahead run on an RBI single from Zach Neto.

“Just trying to get a pitch early,” Schanuel said. “He was getting ahead early and saw his first-pitch curveball a little low. He came in with the cutter, left it over the middle and I was able to capitalize on it. And then Neto coming up big right after to take the lead, so it was just kind of a pass-the-baton type of game.”

After reliever Sammy Peralta served up a two-run blast to Jac Caglianone to give the Royals in the fifth, Schanuel helped the Angels tie it in the bottom of the inning. He ripped an RBI single to right field, but Mike Trout was thrown out by right fielder John Rave at home trying to score from second base.

“I didn't mind it at all,” Suzuki said of the send by third base coach Keith Johnson. “It took a perfect throw. Watching it, Mike had a good jump, good turn, and he just made a perfect throw. So I was OK with that.”

It was a good sign from Schanuel, who was on a tear during July but struggled at the plate in early August. He batted .338/.416/.403 with five doubles and six RBIs in 21 games in July and is now hitting .227/.345/.364 with a homer, three doubles and nine RBIs in 13 games this month.

The Angels reclaimed the lead the next inning on a solo shot from Josh Lowe but lefty reliever Tayler Saucedo gave up two runs in the seventh. The bullpen was forced into early action, as right-hander Grayson Rodriguez lasted just four innings.

Rodriguez gave up three runs on three hits and two walks, as he struggled with his control. He struck out five but threw 89 pitches with only 53 of them going for strikes. It marked his second straight outing of going four frames and he now has a 7.17 ERA in 13 starts this year.

“Obviously, not being able to pitch deep into the ballgame frustrates me,” Rodriguez said. “But the stuff was good, had some balls in some good locations, they just got hits. I mean, really nothing I can do about it.”